Prepare Steaks: Slice a pocket into the side of each steak, and stuff generously with crab stuffing. Wrap bacon around side, and secure with toothpicks. Season to taste with salt and pepper; set aside. Heat olive oil in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Saute garlic and shallot for 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms, and saute until tender. Remove mushroom mixture, and set aside.

Place steaks in skillet, and cook to desired doneness. Remove from skillet, and keep warm. Deglaze skillet with 1 ounce whiskey. Reduce heat, and stir in peppercorn sauce and Dijon mustard. Add mushroom mixture, and reduce sauce until thickened. Remove toothpicks and bacon from steaks, and arrange steaks on a plate. Top with sauce.

Most Helpful Positive Review

Jun 21, 2007

This was an absolutely stunning recipe! Melt in your mouth delicious filet mignon with a cream sauce worthy of this excellent cut of meat. The crab stuffing was wonderful, not too over powering at all. I noticed a lot of complaints about prep time and had a few suggestions. Start by chopping all the ingredients first (the garlic etc) and have that all laid out and ready to go. For measuring the whiskey, it's convenient to use a medicine measurement. You know, like the ones that come on Pepto Bismol bottles. I measured all tsp and tblsp along with ounces in that one cup and it worked out great. I would definitely start the sauce first. You don't need to mess with it and it can bubble along and reduse itself while you prepare the other parts. Cook the bacon for a couple mins in between paper towels in the microwave to minimize mess and effort. Next and while the bacon cooks, start the stuffing and then get the steaks cooked. Once those are done, your sauce will be ready for the final touches. Working in that order, this recipe took less than 40mins start to finish. 5 Stars and thank you so much for sharing!

Most Helpful Critical Review

Jan 29, 2004

I'm giving this recipe 2 stars (for time), flavor deserves 5. BEWARE! It takes much longer than 1 1/2 hours to make. Start it about 3 hours before you plan on serving (2 1/2 if you plan on making nothing to go with it). Also, not a budget friendly recipe. Forget about using shrimp stock. This is an ingredient that you cannot buy at your local grocery store. The crab stuffing was the easiest part of recipe. It was very tasty and would advise doubling the mixture if you wish to have "genorously stuffed" mignons. The peppercorn sauce smells so good while cooking, but takes forever to simmer down. By the way, if anyone is unsure what constitutes "heavy cream", I asked several people (including dairy manager) & nobody knew for sure. Some said "whipping cream" and others claimed "half and half". I found out for sure that it's "whipping cream"! All in all, very tasty. Not quite sure it was worth the effort. Since I was the cook, thrill of eating was gone by the time I was able to sit down. The people I fed it to, loved it. I was over it! LOL! I served it with fried asparagus, baked red taters & crusty Freedom (french) rolls. Will not make again unless a VERY special occasion (extremely hot date, in-laws, etc...) All said, it really is a 5 star recipe (if you have the time).

After reading many of the reviews, I made the following adjustments, made the crab stuffing (doubled) and the sauce the night before because it is time comsuming to waiting for it to reduce. Also, I like my bacon more crisping than soft so I precooked it to the soft-cooked stage before wrapping the filets. You might have to use two strips to wrap a filet if you do this because they have shrinked. The flavor is divine and if you do your prepwork ahead of time, it's worth the effort to put it on the table for company.

This is the best recipe I have - I altered it a bit, which reduced the time it takes to prepare and the ingredients. Crab stuffing - sautee minced onion and red pepper, mix with crab meat, bread crumbs, cajun seasoning to taste, a little lemon juice and mayo (until it's formable). I make the crab stuffing and stuff the filets the night before and then just pop them in the oven the next day when I'm making the dinner.
On the sauce - to reduce the sauce to the thickness that is ideal, it will take over 30 minutes (to tell if it's ready, dip spoon in sauce and run your finger down back of the spoon - if the sauce recovers then it's not done).
I also didn't do any of the bacon, shallots, mushrooms or mustard - kept it simple. It's great served with asparagus and roasted red potatoes quartered and blanched in olive oil w/ rosemary.

I really wish I could give this 100 stars! I didn't make the crab stuffing but I'm rating this for the sauce. It was one of the best things I've ever made from this website. First, let me say, that it is time consuming, but, oh so worth it. When my very fussy, picky husband said it tastes like something you get from a 5 star restaurant (and he'd eaten all over the world) then I know I've got a winner. The method of reducing the sauce takes about 45-50 minutes. I kept checking it but it looked like it was reducing, but finally, it seems in the last 5 minutes it reduced to the most best flavor, thick sauce. Then using the crimini mushrooms was so great and the whiskey was perfect. I will definately be making this again and plan on serving it to guests next time. Thank you so much for posting this recipe.

I have been wanting to try this recipe for some time now, but as others have said, you need to be able to allocate enough time to really do it right.
I felt that overall, this dish isn't all that hard to make. It's just a lot of prep work.
The flavors are great, and to reiterate everyone else, the sauce was amazing. It tasted like a steak with a crab cake center, which is all it is essentially.
The only thing i wish i did differently, was that i would have cut slightly deeper pockets. (I was afraid of ripping through the steak)
I highly recommend this recipe. Keep it your arsenal, and whip it out when you need to impress. Like when you're on a date, or the inlaws come over.

If you want to impress someone make this recipe. I used pork tenderloin and used bay spice in the stuffing that someone had mentioned. I broiled the stuffed filets to brown them and then finished baking them.....it probably was the best dinner I ever made. My guests raved about it all night.

I made this for Father's Day, 2005. Both my father and husband said this was one of the best meals they had ever had. My husband said he wished he could have "Tivoed" the dinner, it was just that good! I followed the directions exactly except for the mushrooms. The sauce never thickened for me either, but I simply added some cornstarch to it. Many reviewers raved about the sauce. The sauce is awesome, but the addition of the crab made it five stars for me! This recipe is a winner! Because I was not rushing to prepare the meal, I did not find the prep time to be an issue. I served it with roasted herb potatoes and asparagus. We had the spinach strawberry salad (from this website)also! Every plate wwas clean! If you are looking for a knockout dish, look no further!

*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

**Nutrient information is not available for all ingredients. Amount is based on available nutrient data.

(-)Information is not currently available for this nutrient. If you are following a medically restrictive diet, please consult your doctor or registered dietitian before preparing this recipe for personal consumption.